This weekend, I was in Sarasota, Florida visiting my 93 year old grandmother. All of my life, she lived next door to me, but about 3 years ago, she moved to Florida.

My grandmother played a big part in my childhood – she actually helped me learn how to read and write (I struggled at first, although now I couldn’t imagine a life without writing every day.)

Despite the treacherous downpours and the stifling humidity, I had a wonderful weekend with her and my mother and sister.

We took her to St. Armand’s Circle to shop one day and the other day, we laid by the pool for a bit, sipping iced tea and catching up. We went out for dinner and had some amazing food – I had some of the best lobster of my life at my hotel’s restaurant (if you’re ever in Sarasota, go to Jack Dusty’s and order the grilled lobster!)

It’s sad to leave her, but I’m excited for my next visit and for her to be in my wedding next year!

Last night, Lu picked me up at the airport and we stopped for dinner at this Italian restaurant called Roman Nose that we’ve been meaning to go for for months and months. I’m sad it took us this long, because dinner was amazing!

If you live in the Jersey City area and you’re looking for some incredible meatballs and pizza, I highly recommend it. Like, if you’re on your cheat day or carbs don’t intimidate you – go there! Funny enough, as we were leaving the restaurant, the owner recognized Lu – they went to high school together! Small world.

So that’s my life recap. If you don’t care, I do apologize – luckily, I have a FANTASTIC recipe for you, which I’ve made a few times and have been meaning to post it up on the blog for a while. It’s easy to make and the flavors are so robust, you’re left with memories of this dish for hours.

The mirin, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, lime juice and chicken broth are the ideal combination for a soup base and the flavors of the vegetables simmer with the broth, infusing it with healthy flavor and nutrients.

The daikon noodles are nice and crunchy, but if you’d prefer that they were softer, just simmer them a bit longer in the broth before serving. Take out a noodle like you would with “regular” pasta and test their consistency.

Daikon radishes are easy to spiralize and transform in flavor when cooked in a broth – they basically absorb everything and their initial slight bitterness or soapiness disappears. You can typically find them at most grocery stores (near the turnips, carrots, etc) but if you can’t, check out an Asian market or specialty store.

Daikons are low in calories and high in fiber, so they fill you up without breaking your diet bank. I don’t use them enough, but they’re fantastic in soups and Asian noodle dishes.

The softness of the shiitake mushrooms and the crunch of the snow peas and bok choy make for a varied consistency and an unforgettable dish. While this noodle dish is perfect as is, I also made it for dinner and added some sauteed shrimp (you could also cook the shrimp directly in the broth, boiling it until cooked).

What are your favorite Asian noodle soups that you’d like to see Inspiralized?

Place three eggs in a medium saucepan and cover with water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a roaring boil and then turn off the heat and let sit for 12-14 minutes. Rinse the eggs under cold water until they are easily handled. Peel and slice in half. Set aside.

While the eggs are cooking, peel and spiralize the daikon radish, using Blade C and set aside. Chop the ends off the baby bok choy and cut the remainder into 1” pieces. Set aside.

After the eggs are cooked, pour the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and let melt. Once melted, add in the ginger, half of the scallions and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add in the bok choy, mushrooms and snow peas, season with salt and pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes or until mushrooms sweat. Stir and then add in the chicken broth, raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add in the daikon noodles, soy sauce, mirin, lime juice, lower to medium heat and let cook for 2 minutes or until daikon softens to al dente.

Stir in the cilantro and portion into soup bowls. Top each bowl with a sliced boiled egg and the rest of the scallions.

Comments

Looks wonderful! I love daikon and ate it regularly when we lived in Japan, so nice to see a fresh use of it… and yes, this has been the rainiest month in Florida but everything is so luck and green! Thank you for your wonderful recipes and the introduction to spiralized veggies!

This looks and sounds amazing. I just started using daikon radishes a few months ago and I love them. I am so glad to have another recipe for this delicious but largely ignored vegetable. Thanks for posting, and I hope your wedding is everything you ever dreamed of.

My grandmother lived in Venice, close to Sarasota, and she used to take me to St. Armand’s Circle in the 1970s and 1980s. We would eat at The Columbia (Spanish restaurant). We liked their black bean soup. You just brought back those memories for me! Thanks! This soup looks like one I should try as well.

The soup looks delicious and I have just been inspired to start spiralizing!! Also, thanks for the info on the Roman Nose. My husband and I are always looking for good Italian eats. It’s def on our list of places eat.

Hello from Henderson, NV! I made this last night for dinner! I had to make a few changes since we are plant-based and our neighborhood Sprouts Farmers Market didn’t have any snow peas (I used green beans & they were delish). I ended up doubling everything because I had a couple portobello mushrooms and a few baby bella’s (on top of the shiitake’s) that needed to be used. I also spiralized some green cabbage to add to the mix, just because it was there, begging to be used! The mirin made a HUGE difference! It amazes me that that small amount would add such a flavor boost to the soup.

Ali, thank you so much for sharing your creations with us. Keep ’em comin’!!